Five Things That Happened On November 8 In Soap History

In 1965, Days of Our Lives premiered on NBC. Created by the husband-and-wife team of Ted and Betty Corday and another soap pioneer, Irna Phillips, DAYS was the first soap to debut in color. From the beginning, the show centered around the Horton family, with Alice and Tom as its matriarch and patriarch. Alice and Tom were played by original cast members Frances Reid and Macdonald Carey; Reid remained with the show until 2007 and passed away in 2010, while Carey remained with DAYS until his death in 1994. In 2023, the show moved exclusively from NBC to Peacock, becoming the first network soap to become streaming-only.

In 1999, Another World's Vicky Hudson McKinnon (Jensen Buchanan) was presumed dead in a plane crash on As The World Turns. When AW went off the air in 1999, ATWT incorporated the character of Vicky's husband, Jake McKinnon, played by Tom Eplin. Vicky's death was scripted to give Jake the possibility of a new romance in Oakdale, which he found in the form of Molly Conlan. Jake was, of course, devastated by Vicky's passing, particularly since he and his wife were expecting twins at the time. In 2000, Vicky's ghost began haunting Jake and Molly, leading to the discovery that Vicky and Jake's twin girls had actually survived.

In 2002, Rick Hearst made his General Hospital debut as Ric Lansing. The actor had previously appeared on Days of Our Lives as Scotty Banning, Alan-Michael Spaulding on Guiding Light (for which he won a Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Younger Actor) and Young and Restless as Matt Clark. The character of Ric was ultimately revealed to be the half brother of Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard), and during Hearst's first stint on the show, Ric had long-term relationships with Elizabeth and Alexis (which begat a daughter, Molly). Hearst won two Daytime Emmys for the role before exiting in 2009. He returned from 2014-15, came back again in 2016 and returned once more in 2024.

In 2011, Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston) and Maggie Horton (Suzanne Rogers) married on Days of Our Lives. The unlikely lovebirds had gotten engaged in September. On their wedding day, a terrible snowstorm threatened to derail the ceremony, as Maggie was reluctant to get married without some of her family members, who wouldn't be able to get there, to say nothing of the caterers for the reception! But Maggie decided to listen to her heart and continue with the wedding, asking her son, Daniel, to give her away. Victor was delighted to hear that the ceremony was back on. Maggie told him, "It may not be the wedding I planned, but as long as I'm marrying you, I couldn't ask for anything more."

In 2018, John Black (Drake Hogestyn) and Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) remarried on Days of Our Lives. The couple's dear friend Abe (James Reynolds) performed the ceremony, which took place in Horton Square. It was an impromptu ceremony that their family helped put together after John secured an annulment from Marlena's look-alike, Hattie, who had forced him into marriage. "What do you say, Doc? Are you in?" asked a hopeful John. "I am so in," she assured him. During their vows, Marlena told John, "I want us to celebrate every day as though it were our first together. And I will delight in you all the days of our lives."